Video image reproduction device, video image distrubution server, method of reproducing video image and method of distrubuting video image

ABSTRACT

A video image reproduction device transmits a search request in accordance with a search condition of video image data to an external device, generates window data in accordance with the search result when a response including the search result identifying a plurality of pieces of video image data in accordance with the search request is received from the external device, and obtains divisional files corresponding to reproduction starting portions in the plurality of respective pieces of video image data identified by the search result. Further, the video image reproduction device starts, when receiving a reproduction instruction for one of the plurality of pieces of video image data after displaying a window based on the window data, reproduction of a divisional file of the video image data for which the reproduction instruction has been received from among the plurality of obtained divisional files.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Divisional of application Ser. No. 15/240,641,filed on Aug. 18, 2016, which is based upon and claims the benefit ofpriority of the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-192063, filedon Sep. 29, 2015, the entire contents of which are incorporated hereinby reference.

FIELD

The embodiments discussed herein are related to a video imagereproduction device.

BACKGROUND

Streaming distribution is a method for distributing video images via acommunication network such as the Internet etc. In streamingdistribution, one piece of video image data is divided into a pluralityof segment files (divisional files) and the files are sequentiallydistributed to video image reproduction devices (clients) that reproducethe image data. Video image reproduction devices sequentially reproducethe received segment files on a time-series basis.

Streaming distribution is categorized roughly into a distribution schemethat uses a dedicated protocol such as Real-Time Streaming Protocol(RTSP) etc. and a distribution scheme that uses Hypertext TransferProtocol (HTTP).

Streaming distribution using HTTP realizes the distribution of videoimages etc. by using a web server alone. Also, streaming distributionusing HTTP permits the use of caches, leading to reduced loads on thedistribution server (web server). Accordingly, streaming distributionservices using HTTP have been drawing attention and increasing in recentyears.

Examples of standards for streaming distribution that uses HTTP includeHTTP Live Stream (HLS) (see Document 1 for example), MPEG-DynamicAdaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

Document 1: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2013-089977

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the embodiment, a video image reproductiondevice includes: a memory configured to store video image data and asearch result of video image data; and a processor configured to:receive specifying of a search condition of the video image data,transmit a search request in accordance with the received searchcondition to an external device, generate window data in accordance withthe search result when a response including the search resultidentifying a plurality of pieces of video image data in accordance withthe search request is received from the external device, obtain one or aplurality of divisional files corresponding to reproduction startingportions in the plurality of respective pieces of video image dataidentified by the search result, and make the memory store thedivisional files; read from the memory, when receiving a reproductioninstruction for one of the plurality of pieces of video image data afterdisplaying a window based on the window data, a divisional file of thevideo image data for which the reproduction instruction has beenreceived; and start reproduction of the read divisional file.

The object and advantages of the embodiment will be realized andattained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointedout in the claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and arenot restrictive of the embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration example of a video image distributionsystem;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a method of generating a segment filegroup;

FIG. 3 illustrates a different example of a method of generating asegment file group;

FIG. 4 illustrates a still different example of a method of generating asegment file group;

FIG. 5 illustrates a configuration example of a playlist;

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram for explaining a method of distributingvideo image data;

FIG. 7 illustrates a functional configuration of a distribution serverin a video image distribution system according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of scene information;

FIG. 9 illustrates a functional configuration of a video imagereproduction device in the video image distribution system according tothe first embodiment;

FIG. 10 illustrates a configuration of a storage unit in the video imagereproduction device according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram for explaining a search process in thevideo image distribution system according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram for explaining a reproduction process of avideo image in the video image distribution system according to thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a video player window;

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of a player selection window;

FIG. 15A is a flowchart for explaining a different example of a methodof reading a head file in advance (first);

FIG. 15B is a flowchart for explaining a different example of a methodof reading a head file in advance (second);

FIG. 16 illustrates a different example of a video player window;

FIG. 17 illustrates a configuration example of scene information for acase when thumbnail images are displayed;

FIG. 18 explains a generation method of a thumbnail image;

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of search results of games that aparticular player is appearing in;

FIG. 20 illustrates a functional configuration of a distribution serverin the video image distribution system according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 21 illustrates a configuration of a storage unit of a distributionmanagement unit in the distribution server according to the secondembodiment;

FIG. 22 illustrates a functional configuration of a video imagereproduction device in the video image distribution system according tothe second embodiment;

FIG. 23 is a sequence diagram for explaining a search process in thevideo image distribution system according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 24A is a sequence diagram for explaining a reproduction process ofa video image in the distribution system according to the secondembodiment (first);

FIG. 24B is a sequence diagram for explaining a reproduction process ofa video image in the distribution system according to the secondembodiment (second); and

FIG. 25 illustrates a hardware configuration of a computer.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In the above streaming distribution, a video image reproduction devicecompletes the reception of the first segment file of the video imagedata or a segment file including the first frame for a specified scene,and thereafter starts the reproduction. This results in a waiting timeof several seconds in the video image reproduction device between thereception of an operator's manipulation of selecting video image data ora scene for which the distribution is desired and the start of thereproduction.

When video image data is to be divided into a plurality of segmentfiles, it is divided for example at intervals of a prescribed timelength, starting from the head of the video image data. According toHLS, MPEG-DASH, etc., video image data is divided into segment files,each having a time length (reproduction time) of for example around 10seconds.

When the reproduction time of one segment file is 10 seconds and thetransfer time of a segment file is twice the reproduction rate, thetransfer time of a segment file is 5 seconds. Thus, the waiting time ina video image reproduction device is 5 seconds. Reduction in the timelength (reproduction time) of each segment file reduces this waitingtime, whereas this increases the number of segment files, alsoincreasing the number of times of communications between the video imagereproduction device and the distribution server. This means that theloads on the distribution server increase in response to the reductionin the time length of a segment file.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained withreference to accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration example of a video image distributionsystem.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a video image distribution system 1 includes adistribution server 2 and a plurality of video image reproductiondevices (clients) 3. The plurality of video image reproduction devices 3(3A, 3B and 3C) are connected to the distribution server 2 via acommunication network 4 such as the Internet etc.

The distribution server 2 holds a plurality of types of video image dataand a playlist of each of the pieces of video image data. The videoimage reproduction device 3 obtains desired video image data from thedistribution server 2 (external device) via the communication network 4and reproduces the obtained video image data.

The video image distribution system 1 supports streaming distributionthat uses HTTP such as for example HLS, HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS)etc.

The distribution server 2 divides one piece of video image data(original image data) picked up by using an image pickup device such asa video camera etc. into a plurality of files, and holds those files. Inthe explanations below, a divisional file of video image data isreferred to as a segment file. Also, in the explanations below, a set ofa plurality of segment files included in one piece of video image datais referred to as a segment file group. The correspondence relationshipbetween the file name of each segment file and the reproduction time ofday in the video image in one segment file group is registered in aplaylist. A segment file group and a playlist are generated by forexample using a generation device (not illustrated) provided separatelyfrom the distribution server 2.

The distribution server 2 distributes (transmits), in units of segmentfiles, video image data requested by the video image reproductiondevices 3 to the video image reproduction devices 3. The video imagedistribution system 1 exemplified in this specification stores forexample a segment file group as illustrated in FIG. 2 in thedistribution server 2 in order to reduce a waiting time between when thevideo image reproduction device 3 makes a request for the distributionof video image data and when the video image data begins to bereproduced.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a method of generating a segment filegroup.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a generation device for generating a segmentfile group from video image data first conducts scene setting fororiginal image data 500 obtained from an image pickup device, andextracts frames (SS0, SS1, SS22, . . . ) that correspond to the heads ofthe respective scenes. Scene setting may be conducted by using any oneof known setting methods. For example, the operator may set a scenemanually, or may set a scene automatically by executing a known scenedetection program.

Next, the generation device generates a first segment file group 501obtained by dividing the original data 500 into segment files (SF0, SF1,SF2, SF3, SF4, . . . ), each having first time length TL1. First timelength TL1 is the length of a reproduction time of one segment filebased on time-of-day information in the original image data 500. Thisfirst time length TL1 suppresses an increase in the process loads thatis caused by an increase in the transfer frequency of segment files tothe video image reproduction devices 3 from the distribution server 2,and is set as a time length (10 seconds for example) that can suppressan increase in the waiting time in the video image reproduction device3.

Next, the generation device redivides a segment file including the frameof the head of a scene among the respective segment files in the firstsegment file group 501 into a plurality of segment files, each havingsecond time length TL2, and generates a second segment file group 502.In the first segment file group 501 illustrated in FIG. 2, segment fileSF0, which is the first segment file, segment file SF3, which is thefourth segment file, and the sixth segment file include the heads ofscenes. Accordingly, the generation device redivides the first segmentfile SF0, the fourth segment file SF3, the sixth segment file, etc. inthe first segment file group 501 into segment files each having secondtime length TL2.

The relationship between first time length TL1 and second time lengthTL2 is arbitrary, and second time length TL2 is ⅕ of first time lengthTL1 in the example illustrated in FIG. 2. Accordingly, the first segmentfile SF0 in the first segment file group 501 for example is divided intofive segment files (SF0 ₀, SF0 ₁, SF0 ₂, SF0 ₃ and SF0 ₄) each havingsecond time length TL2.

A segment file group may also be generated by using a method illustratedin FIG. 3 in addition to the method illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 illustrates a different example of a method of generating asegment file group.

In the method of generating a segment file group illustrated in FIG. 3,the generation device first conducts scene setting on the original imagedata 500 obtained from the image pickup device, and extracts frames thatcorrespond to the heads of the respective scenes (SS0, SS1, SS2, . . . )

Next, the generation device generates the first segment file group 501resulting from dividing the original image data 500 into segment files,each having first time length TL1, and generates a third segment filegroup 503 resulting from dividing the original image data 500 intosegment files, each having second time length TL2. In the abovegeneration, first time length TL1 and second time length TL2 areadjusted for example so that first time length TL1 is an integralmultiple of second time length TL2 (so that TL1=N×TL2 is satisfied,where N is an integer). In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, they areadjusted so that TL1=5×TL2 is satisfied, i.e., so that second timelength TL2 is ⅕ of first time length TL1. Thus, when first time lengthTL1 is 10 seconds, second time length TL2 is 2 seconds.

Next, the generation device extracts a segment file including the headof a scene from the first segment file group 501 and replaces thatsegment file including the head of a scene with a segment file of thethird segment file group 503. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, thefirst segment file SF0 in the first segment file group 501 is replacedwith the first five segment files (SF0 ₀, SF0 ₁, SF0 ₂, SF0 ₃ and SF0 ₄)in the third segment file group 503. Through the above replacement ofsegment files, the first segment file group 501 illustrated in FIG. 3changes to the second segment file group 502 illustrated in FIG. 2

Note that the time length of one segment file can be selectedappropriately for generating a segment file group. When for example asegment file having first time length TL1 is to be redivided into aplurality of segment files, it may be divided into a plurality ofsegment files having time lengths that are different depending upon theperiods of time from the head of the segment file having first timelength TL1 and to the head of the scene.

When a segment file group is to be generated further, original imagedata 504 may be divided for example so that the frame of the head of thescene is the head of the segment files.

FIG. 4 illustrates a still different example of a method of generating asegment file group.

In the method of generating a segment file group illustrated in FIG. 4,the generation device first conducts scene setting on the original imagedata 504 obtained from the image pickup device, and extracts framescorresponding to the heads of respective scenes (SS0, SS1, SS2, . . . ).

Next, for each scene and from the head of the scene, the generationdevice divides the data into segment files, each having first timelength TL1. When remaining time TL3 in a scene has become equal to orshorter than first time length TL1 in the division of one scene, thegeneration device treats the data having remaining time TL3 as the lastsegment file of that scene.

Next, for each scene, the generation device redivides the first segmentfile having first time length TL1 into a plurality of segment files eachhaving second time length TL2 so as to generate a fourth segment filegroup 505. At this time as well, the relationship between first timelength TL1 and second time length TL2 is arbitrary, and second timelength TL2 is ⅕ of first time length TL1 in the example illustrated inFIG. 4. Accordingly, scene 0 for example is divided into five segmentfiles (SF0 ₀, SF0 ₁, SF0 ₂, SF0 ₃ and SF0 ₄) having second time lengthsTL2 that correspond to the range of first time length TL1 from scenehead SS0. Then, the portion later than fifth segment file SF0 ₄ in scene0 is divided into segment files SF1 and SF2, segment file SF1 havingfirst time length TL1 and segment file SF2 having remaining time TL3.Also, scene 1 for example is divided into five segment files (SF3 ₀, SF3₁, SF3 ₂, SF3 ₃ and SF3 ₄) having second time lengths TL2 thatcorrespond to the range of first time length TL1 from scene head SS1.Then, the portion later than fifth segment file SF3 ₄ in scene 1 isdivided into segment file SF₄ and SF5, segment file SF4 having firsttime length TL1 and segment file SF5 having the remaining time length.

The segment file group (video image data to be distributed) generated inthe above method is stored in the distribution server 2. In the aboveprocess, the generation device or the distribution server 2 generates aplaylist as illustrated in FIG. 5 for each piece of video image data. Aplaylist is stored in the distribution server 2 together with a segmentfile group.

FIG. 5 illustrates a configuration example of a playlist. Note that FIG.5 illustrates an example of a playlist for the second segment file group502 illustrated in FIG. 2.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, a playlist 251 registers, for each segmentfile included in a segment file group, a segment number, a URLindicating the storage location of a segment file and the time of day ofahead in an associated manner. A segment number is a number that isassigned from the first segment file in a segment file group (videoimage data). For example, segment numbers 0-0 through 0-4 respectivelyindicate segment files SF0 ₀ through SF0 ₄ illustrated in FIG. 2. Also,segment number 1 indicates segment file SF1 illustrated in FIG. 2.

When the operator of the video image reproduction device 3 manipulatesthe video image reproduction device 3 so as to select a video image toview, the video image reproduction device 3 transmits a distributionrequest for the video image data (segment file group) to thedistribution server 2. Receiving the distribution request, thedistribution server 2 refers to the playlist of the video image dataspecified by the distribution request and sequentially transmits thedata from the first segment file to the video image reproduction device3. In the above transmission, the distribution server 2 first transmitsto the video image reproduction device 3 a segment file having secondtime length TL2, i.e., a segment file having a time length shorter thanthat of a segment file divided by first time length TL1.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram for explaining a method of distributingvideo image data. Note that FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram for a casewhere the video image reproduction device 3 requested the distributionof the video image data (segment file group) corresponding to theplaylist illustrated in FIG. 5 from the head of the video image.

When the operator conducts a prescribed manipulation on the video imagereproduction device 3 so as to confirm the video image to view, adistribution request is transmitted to the distribution server 2 fromthe video image reproduction device 3 as illustrated in FIG. 6 (stepS101).

Receiving the distribution request, the distribution server 2 reads theplaylist of the video image data specified by the distribution requestand transmits to the video image reproduction device 3 the segment filethat is to be first reproduced in accordance with the playlist (stepS102). When segment files are to be transmitted in accordance with theplaylist 251 illustrated in FIG. 5, the segment file that is to be firstreproduced is segment file SF0 ₀ with segment number 0-0. Thus, thedistribution server 2 makes an access by using the URL associated withsegment number 0-0 so as to read segment file SF0 ₀ and transmits thefile to the video image reproduction device 3. In the abovetransmission, the distribution server 2 also transmits the playlist tothe video image reproduction device 3 together with segment file SF0 ₀.

Receiving segment file SF0 ₀ and the playlist from the distributionserver 2, the video image reproduction device 3 starts to reproduce thereceived segment file and also transmits to the distribution server 2 atransfer request for the segment file that is to be reproduced second(step S103).

Receiving the transfer request for the second segment file, thedistribution server 2 transmits to the video image reproduction device 3the segment file that is to be reproduced second, in accordance with thetransfer request. The second segment file on the playlist is segmentfile SF0 ₁ with segment number 0-1. Accordingly, the distribution server2 reads segment file SF0 ₁ so as to transmit it to the video imagereproduction device 3.

Thereafter, the video image reproduction device 3 transmits to thedistribution server 2 a transfer request for a next segment file eachtime the video image reproduction device 3 receives a segment file fromthe distribution server 2 (steps S105 through S112).

It is assumed in this example that the time length (second time lengthTL2) of first segment file SF0 ₀ is 2 seconds. In such a case, when thetransfer rate of segment files between the distribution server 2 and thevideo image reproduction device 3 is twice the reproduction rate of thesegment files, the transfer time of first segment file SF0 ₀ is about 1second. Thus, the video image reproduction device 3 starts thereproduction of first segment file SF0 ₀ at around time of day “T0+1”,which is 1 second later than time of day “T0” at which the video imagereproduction device 3 transmitted the distribution request.

This can reduce a waiting time between making a request for thedistribution of a video image and the start of the video image comparedwith a case where a segment file with first time length TL1 (10 seconds)is transmitted from the distribution server 2 to the video imagereproduction device 3 from the starting time of the distribution. Whenfor example first segment file SF0 has the first time length (10seconds) as in the first segment file group 501 illustrated in FIG. 2,the transfer time of first segment file SF0 is about 5 seconds.Accordingly, the video image reproduction device 3 starts to reproducefirst segment file SF0 about five seconds later than time of day T0 atwhich the video image reproduction device 3 transmitted the distributionrequest.

Also, the video image reproduction device 3 completes the reception ofsecond segment file SF0 ₁ at around time of day “T0+2”, which is 1second later than time of day “T0+1” at which the reproduction of firstsegment file SF0 ₀ started. At that moment, the video image reproductiondevice 3 is still reproducing first segment file SF0 ₀. In response tothis situation, the video image reproduction device 3 holds receivedsecond segment file SF0 ₁ in the buffer for 1 second, i.e., until thereproduction of first segment file SF0 ₀ is terminated. Further, afterthe reception of second segment file SF0 ₁, the video image reproductiondevice 3 has consecutively transmitted to the distribution server 2 atransfer request for the third segment file. Accordingly, the receptionof the third segment file is completed at around time of day “T0+3”,which is about 1 second later than the time of day of the completion ofthe reception of the second segment file, i.e., at around the time ofday at which the reproduction of first segment file SF0 ₀ is terminated.

As described above, when the time length of a segment file is 2 secondsand the transfer rate is twice the reproduction rate, the margin betweenthe time of day of the completion of the reception and the time of dayof the completion of the reproduction of a received segment fileincreases by about 1 second each time one segment file is received.Accordingly, the margin at the time of day of the completion of thereception of segment file SF0 ₄ with segment number 0-4 transmitted onthe basis of the playlist 251 illustrated in FIG. 5 is about 5 seconds.In other words, the time of day at which the reproduction of segmentfile SF0 ₄ with segment number 0-4, which is the fifth segment filecounting from the head of scene 0, is around time of day “T0+10”, whichis 5 seconds later than the time of day of the completion of thereception.

When the transfer rate of a segment file is twice the reproduction rateof the segment file, the transfer time of a segment file with the timelength of 10 seconds is about 5 seconds. In other words, when a requestfor segment file SF1 with segment number 1 is made consecutively afterthe reception of segment file SF0 ₄ with segment number 0-4, the time ofday at which the reproduction of segment file SF0 ₄ is terminated andthe time of day of the completion of the reception of segment file SF1roughly coincide. Accordingly, the waiting time between the terminationof the reproduction of segment file SF0 ₄ with segment number 0-4 andthe start of the reproduction of segment file SF1 with segment number 1is almost zero.

Further, a segment file to be transmitted to the video imagereproduction device 3 from the distribution server 2 after thetransmission of segment file SF0 ₄ with segment number 0-4 is a segmentfile having a time length that is five times as long as second timelength TL2. This can suppress an increase in the transfer frequency ofsegment files between the distribution server 2 and the video imagereproduction device 3 so as to suppress an increase in the process loadson the distribution server 2.

As will be explained below, in the video image distribution system 1exemplified in this specification, the segment file that is to bereproduced by the video image reproduction device 3 first is read inadvance when the search result etc. is displayed in the video imagereproduction device 3. This further reduces a waiting time in the videoimage reproduction device 3 between the selection of a video image toreproduce and the start of the reproduction of the video image.

FIG. 7 illustrates a functional configuration of a distribution serverin the video image distribution system according to the firstembodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the distribution server 2 according to thepresent embodiment includes a distribution management unit 210, acommunication unit 220, a web page storage unit 230, a scene informationstorage unit 240, a playlist storage unit 250 and a video image datastorage unit 260.

The distribution management unit 210 conducts the management of videoimage data (segment file group) distributed by the distribution server2, the management of the transmission of segment files to the videoimage reproduction devices 3, and other processes. The communicationunit 220 performs communications with the video image reproductiondevices 3 via the communication network 4.

The web page storage unit 230 stores a web page such as a video playerwindow, a search window, etc., to be displayed in the video imagereproduction devices 3. The scene information storage unit 240 storesscene information of each piece of video image data (segment file group)used for searching for video images. The playlist storage unit 250stores playlists of respective pieces of video image data. The videoimage data storage unit 260 stores video image data.

FIG. 8 illustrated an example of scene information.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, scene information 241 to be stored in thescene information storage unit 240 includes a scene number, the URL of aplaylist, the time of day of the head of a scene, and a plurality ofkeywords.

A scene number is an identifier such as a serial number for identifyinga plurality of pieces of scene information included in the sceneinformation 241. The URL of a playlist is information for identifying aplaylist of video image data including the corresponding scene fromamong the playlists stored in the playlist storage unit 250. The time ofday of the head of a scene is information indicating the head of thecorresponding scene in video image data.

A plurality of keywords (keywords 1, 2, 3, . . . ) are character stringsindicating a characteristic of the corresponding scene. In a case whenfor example a video image of a baseball game has been divided for eachbatter, the name of the batter, the name of the pitcher, the results,the locations of pitched balls, the types of pitches, the directions ofthe batted balls, etc. are registered as the scene information 241.

FIG. 9 illustrates a functional configuration of a video imagereproduction device in the video image distribution system according tothe first embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the video image reproduction device 3according to the present embodiment includes an input manipulation unit310, a control unit 320, a communication unit 330, a storage unit 340, areproduction process unit 350, a display unit 360 and a speaker 370.

The input manipulation unit 310 receives various types of inputmanipulations such as an input manipulation conducted by the operator inorder to view a video image or other manipulations. Input manipulationsconducted by the operator include a manipulation of activating(executing) a program for viewing a video image, a manipulation ofsearching for a video image, and a manipulation of selecting a videoimage to view.

The control unit 320 controls the operation of the video imagereproduction device 3 on the basis of an input manipulation received bythe input manipulation unit 310. The operations controlled by thecontrol unit 320 include an operation of transmitting the search requestand a distribution request for a video image to the distribution server2. Also, the operations controlled by the control unit 320 includeoperations of making the storage unit 340 store scene information, aplaylist, and video image data (segment files) obtained from thedistribution server 2 and operations of making the reproduction processunit 350 perform the reproduction process of a segment file.

The communication unit 330 conducts communications with the distributionserver 2 via the communication network 4. The storage unit 340 stores aweb page, scene information, a playlist, a segment file, etc. obtainedfrom the distribution server 2. The reproduction process unit 350performs a reproduction process etc. of a segment file stored in thestorage unit 340. The display unit 360 displays a web page or a videoimage reproduced by the reproduction process unit 350. The speaker 370outputs audio reproduced by the reproduction process unit 350.

FIG. 10 illustrates a configuration of a storage unit in the video imagereproduction device according to the first embodiment.

The storage unit 340 of the video image reproduction device 3 includes aweb page storage unit 341, a search result storage unit 342 and a videoimage data storage unit 343 as illustrated in for example FIG. 10.

The web page storage unit 341 stores a web page such as a video playerwindow etc. used for viewing a video image.

The search result storage unit 342 stores a search result of a videoimage. The search result storage unit 342 stores a pair of sceneinformation including a keyword specified by the operator and thesegment file of the head of the scene identified by that sceneinformation as one search result. The segment file of the head of ascene is identified on the basis of the URL in the playlist included inthe scene information and the time of day of the head of the scene. FIG.10 illustrates two search results, i.e., a first search result 342-1 anda second search result 342-2 as examples of search results to be storedby the search result storage unit 342. The first search result 342-1includes scene information 342-1 a including a keyword in the sceneinformation 241 and a segment file 342-1 b of the head of the sceneidentified by that scene information 342-1 a. The second search result342-2 includes different scene information 342-2 a including a keywordin the scene information 241 and a segment file 342-2 b of the head ofthe scene identified by that scene information 342-2 a.

For obtaining video image data (segment file group) from thedistribution server 2 so as to reproduce it, the video image datastorage unit 343 stores a segment file that is later in time than thesegment file being reproduced.

FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram for explaining a search process in thevideo image distribution system according to the first embodiment.

Receiving a prescribed input manipulation by the operator in for examplethe input manipulation unit 310, the video image reproduction device 3makes the display unit 360 display a video player window for viewing thevideo image. A prescribed input manipulation by the operator includesfor example a manipulation of activating a web browser and amanipulation of making the web browser display the web page of the videoplayer window. A video player window includes a video image display areafor displaying a video image, a list display area for displaying a listof video images that can be viewed, a search area for performing searchfor a video image, etc.

When the operator manipulates the input manipulation unit 310 and inputsa search condition in a state in which the video player window isdisplayed, the search condition is transmitted from the inputmanipulation unit 310 to the control unit 320 as illustrated in FIG. 11(step S201).

Receiving the search condition, the control unit 320 makes the displayunit 360 display a video player window with the search condition addedto it (step S202) and also transmits a search request to thedistribution server 2 (step S203). The search request transmitted to thedistribution server 2 in step S203 includes the search condition.

Receiving the search request, the distribution server 2 searches thescene information 241 of the scene information storage unit 240 on thebasis of the search condition included in the search request (stepS204). When the scene information 241 includes scene information thatmeets the search condition, the distribution server 2 extracts thatscene information and transmits it to the video image reproductiondevice 3 (step S205). When the scene information 241 does not includescene information that meets the search condition, the distributionserver 2 transmits to the video image reproduction device 3 informationreporting that scene information meeting the search condition does notexist, although this is not illustrated in FIG. 11.

In the video image reproduction device 3 that has received sceneinformation that meets the search condition, the control unit 320identifies the playlist of the video image by using the received sceneinformation (step S206). In step S206, the control unit 320 reads theURL (see FIG. 8) of the playlist included in the scene information so asto identify the playlist of the video image.

After identifying the playlist of the video image, the video imagereproduction device 3 (the control unit 320) transmits a transferrequest for the playlist to the distribution server 2 (step S207). Atransfer request for a playlist includes the URL of a playlist read fromscene information.

Receiving the transfer request for the playlist, the distribution server2 transmits to the video image reproduction device 3 the playlist readfrom the playlist storage unit 250 on the basis of the URL of theplaylist included in the transfer request (step S208).

In the video image reproduction device 3 that received the playlist, thecontrol unit 320 uses the scene information and the playlist so as toidentify the segment file of the head of the scene (head file)corresponding to the scene information (step S209). In step S209, thecontrol unit 320 reads the URL of the segment file including the time ofday of the head of the scene from the playlist after reading the time ofday of the head of the scene included in the scene information.

Identifying the head file, the video image reproduction device 3(control unit 320) transmits a transfer request for the head file to thedistribution server 2 (step S210). A transfer request for ahead fileincludes the URL of a segment file read from a playlist.

Receiving the transfer request for a head file, the distribution server2 transmits, to the video image reproduction device 3 and as the headfile, the segment file read from the video image data storage unit 260on the basis of the URL of the segment file included in the transferrequest (step S211).

In the video image reproduction device 3 that received the head file,the control unit 320 first makes the search result storage unit 342 ofthe storage unit 340 store the pair of the scene information and thehead file as a search result (step S212). Also, the control unit 320makes the display unit 360 display a video player window with theobtained scene information added to it (step S213).

Note that when a plurality of pieces of scene information have beenextracted by the search in step S204 in the distribution server 2, theprocesses of steps S205 through S213 are performed on each of theextracted pieces of scene information between the distribution server 2and the video image reproduction device 3.

As described above, in the video image distribution system according tothe present embodiment, when the video image reproduction device 3 isused for searching for a video image, the video image reproductiondevice 3 obtains scene information regarding a scene that meets a searchcondition and a segment file including the head of that scene. In otherwords, when searching for a video image, the video image reproductiondevice 3 reads in advance a segment file (head file) of the video imagecorresponding to the search result before receiving a reproductioninstruction of the video image (before a reproduction instruction of thevideo image is input). As illustrated in FIG. 2, in video image datadistributed in the video image distribution system according to thepresent embodiment, second time length TL2 of the segment file includingthe head of a scene is shorter than first time length TL1 of a segmentfile that is to be reproduced after the reproduction of a prescribednumber of segment files. Because of this, the segment file including thehead of a scene uses a small volume, suppressing the loads on thenetwork for transmitting the file from the distribution server 2 to thevideo image reproduction device 3. This makes it possible for the videoimage reproduction device 3 to obtain a segment file including the headof a scene while preventing an increase in the loads on a network evenwhen a plurality of pieces of scene information that meet the searchcondition are extracted.

FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram for explaining a reproduction process of avideo image in the video image distribution system according to thefirst embodiment.

When the operator has conducted a manipulation of specifying a videoimage to reproduce (view) in a state in which the search result that wasobtained through the above search process is displayed in the videoimage reproduction device 3, specifying information is input to thecontrol unit 320 as illustrated in FIG. 12 (step S301). Specifyinginformation includes scene information of video image data specified bythe operator.

In response to the input of specifying information, the control unit 320accesses the search result storage unit 342 of the storage unit 340 soas to read scene information (steps S302 and S303).

After reading scene information, the control unit 320 outputs areproduction start instruction to the reproduction process unit 350(step S304) and also identifies the playlist of the video image datathat is to be reproduced on the basis of the scene information (stepS321). The reproduction start instruction output to the reproductionprocess unit 350 includes information specifying the segment file of thehead of the scene (head file) associated with the read sceneinformation.

The reproduction process unit 350 to which the reproduction startinstruction has been input from the control unit 320 accesses the searchresult storage unit 342 of the storage unit 340 so as to read the headfile specified in the reproduction start instruction (steps S305 andS306). The reproduction process unit 350 thereafter starts thereproduction of the read head file (step S307) and outputs a reproducedsignal to the display unit 360 and a speaker (not illustrated) (stepS308).

Meanwhile, the control unit 320, after outputting the reproduction startinstruction, identifies the playlist of the video image data that is tobe reproduced in step S321 as described above.

In step S321, the control unit 320 reads the URL (see FIG. 8) of theplaylist included in the scene information so as to identify theplaylist of the video image.

After identifying the playlist of the video image, the video imagereproduction device 3 (control unit 320) transmits to the distributionserver 2 a transfer request for the playlist (step S322). A transferrequest for a playlist includes the URL of the playlist read from sceneinformation.

Receiving the transfer request for the playlist, the distribution server2 transmits, to the video image reproduction device 3, the playlist readfrom the playlist storage unit 250 on the basis of the URL of theplaylist included in the transfer request.

In the video image reproduction device 3 that received the playlist, thecontrol unit 320 uses the scene information and the playlist so as toidentify a segment file (following file) that follows the segment filebeing reproduced (head file) (step S324). In step S324, the control unit320 reads the URL of a segment file that is later in time than thesegment file, including the time of day of the head of the scene in theplaylist on the basis of the time of day of the head of the sceneincluded in the scene information.

After identifying the following file, the video image reproductiondevice 3 (control unit 320) transmits to the distribution server 2 atransfer request for a segment file to be reproduced second (next file)(step S325).

Receiving the transfer request for the next file, the distributionserver 2 transmits, to the video image reproduction device 3 and as thenext file, a segment file read from the video image data storage unit260 on the basis of the URL of the segment file included in the transferrequest (step S326).

In the video image reproduction device 3 that has received the nextfile, the control unit 320 makes the video image data storage unit 343of the storage unit 340 store the received next file (step S327). Whenthe received next file is the segment file that is to be reproduced nextto the head file, the video image reproduction device 3 is stillreproducing the head file at the moment of the completion of thereception of the next file as illustrated in FIG. 5. In response to thissituation, the video image reproduction device 3 makes the video imagedata storage unit 343 store the received next file.

Also, after storing the next file in the video image data storage unit343 in step S327, the control unit 320 repeats the processes in stepS325 through 327, although this is omitted in FIG. 12. Note that atransfer request for a next file to be transmitted in step S325 afterthe reception of the second segment file includes the URL of the segmentfile that is the earliest in time among segment files that are later intime than the head file and that have not been obtained.

Also, slightly before the termination of the reproduction of the headfile, the reproduction process unit 350 accesses the video image datastorage unit 343 of the storage unit 340 so as to read the next file(step S309 and S310). Then, the reproduction of the next file starts atthe same time as the termination of the reproduction of the head file.Thereafter, immediately before the termination of the reproduction of asegment file, the reproduction process unit 350 accesses the video imagedata storage unit 343 of the storage unit 340 so as to read segmentfiles that are to be reproduced next, and reproduces them sequentially.

As described above, the video image reproduction device 3 according tothe present embodiment, when reproducing a video image, starts thereproduction from the segment file including the head of a scene (headfile) that has been stored in the storage unit 340 of the video imagereproduction device 3 itself. Then, the video image reproduction device3 obtains the next segment file from the distribution server 2 duringthe reproduction of the head file, and thereafter obtains sequentiallyfrom the distribution server 2 segment files that are later in time thanthe segment file being reproduced. Accordingly, the present embodimentcan reduce a waiting time between the specifying of a video image thatis to be reproduced in the video image reproduction device 3 and thestart of the reproduction.

Also, the distribution server 2 first transmits to the video imagereproduction device 3 a prescribed number of segment files which includea head file and each of which has a short time length. After asufficient margin has been secured in the video image reproductiondevice 3, the distribution server 2 transmits a segment file having along time length. This can suppress an increase in the transferfrequency of segment files between the distribution server 2 and thevideo image reproduction devices 3 so as to suppress an increase in theprocess loads on the distribution server 2.

Note that the functional configuration of the distribution server 2illustrated in FIG. 7 is just exemplary, and part of the configurationmay be changed or other constituents may be added as needed. Also, thevideo image data storage unit 260 for example may be provided in aserver that is independent from the distribution server 2.

Also, the search process illustrated in FIG. 11 is just exemplary, andregarding the search process of the video image distribution system 1according to the present embodiment, the order and contents of some ofthe processes of the search process illustrated in FIG. 11 may bechanged and other processes may be added to the search processillustrated in FIG. 11 as needed. When for example scene information (asearch result) has been obtained from the distribution server 2, it isalso possible for example to additionally perform a process ofdetermining whether or not the obtained scene information has alreadybeen stored in the search result storage unit 342 of the storage unit340. When the search result (scene information) obtained from thedistribution server 2 includes scene information that has already beenstored in the search result storage unit 342, the process of obtainingthe segment file of the head of the scene corresponding to that sceneinformation may be omitted. This makes it possible to prevent the videoimage reproduction device 3 from obtaining again the segment file of thehead of a scene that has already been obtained in a case when a searchcondition is changed. This can suppress an increase in the traffic inthe communication network 4 caused by unnecessary transfer of segmentfiles between the distribution server 2 and the video image reproductiondevices 3.

Also, the reproduction process of a video image illustrated in FIG. 12is just exemplary, and regarding the reproduction process of the videoimage distribution system according to the present embodiment, the orderand contents of some of the processes may be changed in the reproductionprocess illustrated in FIG. 12 and other processes may be added to thereproduction process illustrated in FIG. 12 as needed.

Further, the playlist 251 illustrated in FIG. 5 is just an example of aplaylist used in the video image distribution system 1 and may bechanged appropriately in accordance with the distribution form ofsegment data. When for example the video image reproduction device 3conducts reproduction from a scene in accordance with the playlistillustrated in FIG. 5, a segment file having a short time length istransferred between the video image reproduction device 3 and thedistribution server 2 each time a scene transitions to the next scene.Meanwhile, when the first segment file group 501 and the second segmentfile 503 generated from one piece of the original image data 500illustrated in FIG. 3 are stored in the video image data storage unit260, segment files to be distributed can be switched for each first timelength TL1. This makes it possible for example to read from the secondsegment file 503 only a prescribed number of segment files from the headof the scene at which the video image reproduction device 3 started thereproduction so as to read subsequent segment files from the firstsegment file group. Thereby, playlists may employ a configuration inwhich for example the URLs of segment files in the second segment filegroup and the URLs of segment files in the first segment file group aredescribed in the portions of the heads of the second and subsequentscenes. When a playlist of this configuration is used, the control unit320 of the video image reproduction device 3 for example performscontrol of obtaining, from the second segment file group, only aprescribed number of segment files from among segment files includingthe time of day of the head of the scene in scene information. It isalso possible to generate, for example for each piece of sceneinformation, a playlist in which only the URLs of a prescribed number ofsegment files including the head of the scene of the corresponding sceneinformation are treated as the URLs of segment files of the secondsegment file group, and to make the playlist storage unit 250 store theplaylist. In such a case, the distribution server 2 extracts a playlistassociated with scene information meeting a search condition or aplaylist associated with scene information included in a distributionrequest from among a plurality of playlists generated for one piece ofvideo image data, and transmits the playlist to the video imagereproduction device 3.

Hereinafter, explanations will be given for the operations of the videoimage reproduction devices 3 and the distribution server 2 in a systemthat distributes a video image of a baseball game as a specific exampleof the video image distribution system 1 according to the presentembodiment.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a video player window.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, a video player window 6 includes playerdisplay areas 601 and 602, game date display areas 603 and 604, apitched-ball location display area 605, a type-of-pitch display area 606and a batted-ball direction display area 607. The video player window 6also includes a search result display area 608, a video image displayarea 609, a play button 610, a back-to-head button 611, a slow motionbutton 612 and a home button 613.

The player display areas 601 and 602 are areas for displaying battersand pitchers in the video image that is to be viewed. The player displayareas 601 and 602 function also as a display switch button fordisplaying a player selection window for selecting players.

The game date display areas 603 and 604 are areas for displaying asearch condition regarding the date of a game to view. The date of agame is displayed in for example the format of “YYYY/MM/DD” in the gamedate display areas 603 and 604. “YYYY”, “MM” and “DD” indicate the year,the month and the day, respectively. These game date display areas 603and 604 function also as a display switch button for displaying a gamedate selection window for selecting a period of the dates of games.

The pitched-ball location display area 605 is an area for displaying asearch condition regarding the location of a pitch by a pitcher, anddisplays a pitched-ball location specifying unit made of 5×5 boxes. Thepitched-ball location display area 605 uses different colors fordisplaying the box corresponding to the location of a pitched ballspecified as a search target and boxes corresponding to locations ofpitched balls that are not specified, and thereby indicates a searchcondition (i.e., which of the locations of pitched balls has beenspecified as a search target). This pitched-ball location display area605 functions also as a display switch button for displaying apitched-ball location selection window for selecting the pitched-balllocation as a search target.

The type-of-pitch display area 606 is an area for displaying a searchcondition regarding the type of a pitch by a pitcher, and displays a piechart that indicates types of pitches by the pitcher in the game and theratios between them. The type-of-pitch display area 606 uses differentcolors for displaying the sector corresponding to the type of the pitchspecified as a search condition and sectors corresponding to types ofpitches that are not specified, and thereby indicates a search condition(which of the types of pitches is specified as a search target). Thistype-of-pitch display area 606 functions also as a display switch buttonfor displaying a type-of-pitch selection window for selecting a type ofa pitch as a search condition.

The batted-ball direction display area 607 is an area for displaying asearch condition regarding a direction of a batted ball, and displays afigure simulating a baseball field. The figure of the filed is dividedinto a plurality of areas that indicate the positions at which fielderscaught the balls or an area that indicates a homerun. The type-of-pitchdisplay area 606 uses different colors for displaying the areacorresponding to the direction specified as a search condition and areascorresponding to directions that are not specified, and therebyindicates a search condition (i.e., which of the directions specified asa search target). This batted-ball direction display area 607 functionsalso as a display switch button for displaying a direction selectionwindow for selecting a direction as a search condition.

The search result display area 608 is an area for displaying pieces ofscene information 608-1, 608-2 and 608-3 that meet the above varioustypes of search conditions obtained as the search results. The pieces ofthe scene information 608-1, 608-2 and 608-3 are results of visualizingsome of the keywords of the respective pieces of scene information (seeFIG. 8) by using a prescribed method. “MM/DD” in the pieces of sceneinformation 608-1, 608-2 and 608-3 respectively indicate the month (MM)and the date (DD) at which the game was held. “4b”, “7b” and “2b”appearing in the pieces of scene information 608-1 through 608-3indicate “bottom of the fourth inning”, “bottom of the seventh inning”,and “bottom of the second inning”, respectively. Note that when thereare so many scenes that meet the search conditions that it is notpossible to display all pieces of scene information in the search resultdisplay area 608, pieces of scene information to be displayed in thesearch result display area 608 can be switched by for example a verticalscroll bar.

The video image display area 609 is an area for displaying a scene(video image) corresponding to one of the pieces of scene information608-1, 608-2 and 608-3 displayed in the search result display area 608.The video player window 6 illustrated in FIG. 13 displays a scene (videoimage) that corresponds to the scene information 608-1 displayed in thesearch result display area 608. Which of the pieces of scene informationthe scene displayed in the video image display area 609 corresponds tois indicated for example by emphasizing the frame including the videoimage display area 609 and the scene information display area.

The play button 610 is a button for starting the reproduction of a videoimage from the scene displayed in the video image display area 609. Theback-to-head button 611 is a button for returning to the head of thescene that is being reproduced. The slow motion button 612 is a buttonfor reproducing a video image at a slow speed, e.g., at a speed half thereproduction speed based on for example the time-of-day information inthe video image data. When the operator of the video image reproductiondevice 3 conducts a manipulation of pushing one of the play button 610,the back-to-head button 611 and the slow motion button 612, the videoimage reproduction device 3 performs the reproduction process thatcorresponds to the pushed button. After the start of the reproduction ofa video image, the play button 610 is switched to for example a pausebutton for pausing the reproduction of the video image, although this isnot illustrated. When the operator of the video image reproductiondevice 3 conducts a manipulation of pushing the pause button, the videoimage reproduction device 3 stops the reproduction of a video image, andagain displays the play button 610 in place of the pause button that hasbeen displayed.

The home button 613 is a display switch button for switching the displayof the display unit 360 of the video image reproduction device 3 to forexample the home window of the web site that provides the distributionservice of a video image.

The video player window 6 is displayed in the display unit 360 by forexample activating the web browser in the video image reproductiondevice 3 and obtaining the web page from the web page storage unit 230of the distribution server 2 through a prescribed manipulation. Notethat the video images of the pieces of scene information 608-1, 608-2and 608-3 in the search result display area 608 and the video images inthe video image display area 609 are displayed by the operatorconducting a manipulation of inputting a search condition in a state inwhich the video player window 6 is displayed. One of the manipulationsof inputting a search condition is a manipulation of pausing the playerdisplay areas 601 and 602. When an operator conducts a manipulation ofpushing one of the two player display areas 601 and 602 in the videoplayer window 6, the display unit 360 displays a window for selecting aplayer.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of a player selection window.

When the operator of the video image reproduction device 3 conducts amanipulation of pushing one of the player display areas 601 and 602 inthe video player window 6, the video image reproduction device 3 obtainsfrom the distribution server 2 the web page of the window for selectinga player. Also, the display unit 360 of the video image reproductiondevice 3 displays a player selection window 700 for example asillustrated in FIG. 14.

The player selection window 700 includes selected player display areas701 and 702, a team selection area 703, a position selection area 704, aplayer display area 705 and a back button 706.

The selected player display areas 701 and 702 are areas for displayingselected players. The selected player display areas 701 and 702 functionalso as buttons for specifying a player, and when for example theoperator conducts a manipulation of pushing the selected player displayarea 701, it becomes possible to select or change players to bedisplayed in the selected player display area 701.

The team selection area 703 is an area for selecting the team to which aplayer belongs, and six teams of team A through team F can be selectedin the example illustrated in FIG. 13. The team selection area 703functions also as a button for selecting (specifying) a team, and whenfor example the operator conducts a manipulation of pushing one of thesix areas indicating the team names, that team name is specified.

The position selection area 704 is an area for selecting the position ofa player and allows for the selection from among “all positions (ALL)”,“pitcher”, “catcher”, “infielder” and “outfielder” in the exampleillustrated in FIG. 13. The position selection area 704 functions alsoas a button for selecting (specifying) a position and when for examplethe operator conducts a manipulation of pushing one of the five areas,the position of the player is selected.

The player display area 705 is an area for displaying players registeredfor the position selected on the selected team. The player display area705 displays player information including the name, the uniform number,throwing and hitting right or left handedness (i.e. right-leftinformation, which represents whether the player is right-handed orleft-handed for throwing and batting), a face photograph, etc. of acorresponding player. Player information is stored in for example theweb page storage unit 230 of the distribution server 2. Each piece ofplayer information functions also as a button for selecting a player sothat when the operator conducts a manipulation of selecting one piece ofplayer information, the corresponding player is displayed in theselected player display area 701 or the selected player display area702.

The back button 706 is a display switch button for switching the displayof the display unit 360 of the video image reproduction device 3 to thevideo player window 6 in a case when a combination of selected playersis confirmed, or in other cases.

Also, when the operator conducts a manipulation of pushing the game datedisplay areas 603 and 604, the pitched-ball location display area 605,the type-of-pitch display area 606 and the batted-ball direction displayarea 607, the selection windows corresponding to the respectivemanipulations are displayed in the display unit 360 of the video imagereproduction device 3. When the operator selects (specifies) a searchcondition through a prescribed manipulation and thereafter conducts amanipulation of pushing a back button displayed in each selectionwindow, the search conditions are confirmed and the display of thedisplay unit 360 of the video image reproduction device 3 is switched tothe video player window 6.

In response to the input of various types of search conditions asdescribed above, the video image reproduction device 3 transmits to thedistribution server 2 a search request including the input searchconditions.

Receiving the search request, the distribution server 2 searches thescene information 241 of the scene information storage unit 240 on thebasis of the search conditions included in the search request. Whenscene information meeting the search conditions has been extracted fromthe scene information storage unit 240, the distribution server 2transmits the extracted scene information to the video imagereproduction device 3. Thereafter, the video image reproduction device 3makes the display unit 360 display the received scene information andobtains the segment file including the head of the corresponding sceneon the basis of the received scene information, as illustrated in FIG.11. In other words, before receiving a reproduction instruction of avideo image, the video image reproduction device 3 reads in advance thesegment file including the head of a scene corresponding to the searchresult (scene information) displayed in the search result display area608 of the video player window 6 illustrated in for example FIG. 13.Accordingly, when the operator selects scene information displayed inthe search result display area 608 and conducts a manipulation ofpushing the play button 610, the video image reproduction device 3starts the reproduction of the segment file of the head of the scenestored in its own storage unit 340.

Also, regarding video image data held by the distribution server 2, asegment file of the head of a scene has a short time length, as in thesecond segment file group 502 illustrated in FIG. 2. This makes itpossible to suppress transfer delay etc. of a segment file that is to beread in advance, even when a plurality of scenes meeting searchconditions are extracted. Accordingly, compared with a case where it isrequested, after the operator conducts a manipulation of starting thereproduction, that the distribution server 2 transmit a segment file ofthe head of a scene, a waiting time between the manipulation of startingthe reproduction and the start of the reproduction can be reduced.

Also, regarding video image data held by the distribution server 2, onlya prescribed number of segment files counting from the segment fileincluding the head of a scene have time lengths shorter than the timelength of the segment file to be reproduced next to such segment files.In other words, segment files with a short time length are transferredonly once through several times of counting from the head of a scene,and accordingly an increase in the transfer frequency of segment filesbetween the distribution server 2 and the video image reproductiondevice 3 can be suppressed. Accordingly, in the video image distributionsystem 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent asituation where an increase in the transfer frequency of segment filesincreases process loads on the distribution server 2.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the storage unit 340 of the videoimage reproduction device 3 makes the search result storage unit 342store the scene information and the head file and makes the video imagedata storage unit 343 store subsequent segment files in the video imagebeing reproduced. Accordingly, even when for example video image data(segment files) obtained from the distribution server 2 in the streamingdistribution is deleted from the video image data storage unit 343 afterthe reproduction, the segment file of the head of a scene correspondingto a search result is held. This makes it possible to start thereproduction from the segment file of the head of a scene held by thevideo image reproduction device 3 itself even when a manipulation isconducted to reproduce a different video image.

Note that when the segment file of the head of a scene is to be obtainedon the basis of scene information at the moment when the sceneinformation meeting a search condition is obtained as in the presentembodiment, the number of segment files to be obtained increases inproportion to the number of pieces of scene information that meets thesearch condition. This leads to a possibility that processes ofobtaining the segment files of the heads of scenes in the video imagereproduction device 3 will concentrate so as to increase the processloads when there are a large number of pieces of scene information thatmeet the search condition. In response to this, the video imagereproduction device 3 may performs the processes as illustrated in FIG.15A and FIG. 15B so as to obtain the segment file of the head of a sceneat the moment when the scene information is displayed in the searchresult display area 608.

FIG. 15A is a flowchart for explaining a different example of a methodof reading a bead file in advance (first). FIG. 15B is a flowchart forexplaining a different example of a method of reading a head file inadvance (second).

As illustrated in FIG. 15A, the video image reproduction device 3 firstreceives a search condition (step S801). Next, the video imagereproduction device 3 transmits the search condition to the distributionserver 2 and obtains scene information that meets the search condition(step S802). Next, the video image reproduction device 3 obtains aplaylist on the basis of the obtained scene information (step S803).When a plurality of pieces of scene information have been obtained instep S802, the video image reproduction device 3 sequentially obtainsthe playlists of the respective pieces of obtained scene information.

Next, the video image reproduction device 3 determines whether or notthe number of the pieces of obtained scene information, i.e., the numberof the search hits, is equal to or smaller than threshold TH (stepS804). Threshold TH used for the determination in step S804 is assumedto be the number of the pieces of scene information that can bedisplayed in the search result display area 608 of the video playerwindow 6 at a time. This threshold TH may be a fixed value or may be avalue that varies in accordance with the display size etc. of the videoplayer window 6.

When the number of the hits is equal to or smaller than threshold TH(Yes in step S804), the video image reproduction device 3 displays allthe pieces of obtained scene information and obtains the head filescorresponding to each of all scene informations (step S805). When thenumber of the hits is greater than threshold TH (No in step S804), thevideo image reproduction device 3 displays TH (counting from the top)pieces of obtained scene information and obtains the head filescorresponding to each of displayed scene informations (step S806). Instep S806, the video image reproduction device 3 treats for example thefirst through TH-th pieces of scene information in the order of beingobtained as top TH pieces of scene information.

Thereafter, the video image reproduction device 3 determines whether ornot a video image that is to be reproduced has been specified, asillustrated in FIG. 15B (step S807). When a video image has beenspecified (Yes in step S807), the video image reproduction device 3starts the reproduction of the specified video image (step S808). Alsoat that moment, the video image reproduction device 3 determines whetheror not a manipulation of scrolling the search result has been conducted(step S809). When a video image has not been specified (No in stepS807), the video image reproduction device 3 skips the process in stepS808 so as to perform the determination in step S809.

When a manipulation of scrolling the search result has been conducted(Yes in step S809), the video image reproduction device 3 determineswhether or not all the head files corresponding to the scene informationdisplayed consecutively after the scrolling have already been obtained(step S810). When there is a piece of scene information for which a headfile has not been obtained (No in step S810), the video imagereproduction device 3 obtains a head file that has not been obtained(step S811). After obtaining a head file that has not been obtained, thevideo image reproduction device 3 determines whether or not to terminatethe search (step S812).

When a manipulation of scrolling the search result has not beenconducted (No in step S809), the video image reproduction device 3 skipsthe determination in step S810 and the process in step S811 so as toconduct the determination in step S812. When a manipulation of scrollingwas conducted but all the head files corresponding to the pieces of thescene information that are being displayed currently have been obtained(Yes in step S810), the video image reproduction device 3 skips theprocess in step S811 and conducts the determination in step S812.

In step S812, the video image reproduction device 3 determines forexample whether or not a manipulation of pushing the home button 613 inthe video player window 6 has been conducted. When the search is to beterminated (Yes in step S812), the video image reproduction device 3terminates the search process.

When the search is to be continued (No in step S812), the video imagereproduction device 3 determines whether or not the search condition hasbeen changed (step S813). When the search condition has been changed(Yes in step S813), the process performed by the video imagereproduction device 3 returns to step S801 illustrated in FIG. 15A. Whenthe search condition has not been changed (No in step S813), the processperformed by the video image reproduction device 3 returns to step S807.Thereafter, the video image reproduction device 3 repeats the processesfrom step S801 through step S813 until the search is terminated.

As described above, in the method of reading a head file in advanceillustrated in FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B, only segment files of the heads ofthe scenes corresponding to the scene information displayed in thedisplay unit 360 of the video image reproduction device 3 aresequentially obtained from among pieces of scene information that meetthe search condition. This can suppress an increase in the process loadson the video image reproduction device 3 caused by obtaining manysegment files in a case when many pieces of scene information meetingthe search condition have been extracted.

Note that the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B is justexemplary, and the order and content of some of the processes may bechanged as needed. Step S803 of obtaining a playlist for example may beincluded in step S805 or step S806 so that only a playlist identified byscene information displayed in the search result display area 608 of thevideo player window 6 is obtained.

Also, the video player window 6 displayed in the display unit 360 of thevideo image reproduction device 3 is not limited to the layoutexemplified by FIG. 13 and can be changed appropriately. The videoplayer window 6 for example may display thumbnail images of respectivescenes together with scene information in the search result display area608 as illustrated in FIG. 16.

FIG. 16 illustrates a different example of a video player window. FIG.17 illustrates a configuration example of scene information for a casewhen thumbnail images are displayed. Note that FIG. 16 illustrates asearch window for a case when the video image of a baseball game isreproduced (viewed) as an example of the video player window 6.Similarly to the video player window 6 illustrated in FIG. 13, thisvideo player window 6 includes the game date display areas 603 and 604,the pitched-ball location display area 605, the type-of-pitch displayarea 606 and the batted-ball direction display area 607. Also, the videoplayer window 6 includes the search result display area 608, the videoimage display area 609, the play button 610, the back-to-head button611, the slow motion button 612 and the home button 613. Further, thevideo player window 6 includes the player display areas 601 and 602,which are omitted in FIG. 16.

In the search result display area 608 of the video player window 6,scene information meeting the search condition is displayed for eachscene as described above. In the above process, for the pieces of sceneinformation 608-1, 608-2 and 608-3 of the respective scenes, thumbnailimages 608-1 a, 608-2 a and 608-3 a of each scene may be respectivelydisplayed as illustrated in FIG. 16. For the thumbnail images 608-1 a,608-2 a and 608-3 a, images generated by extracting the frames of theheads of the respective scenes in video image data (segment file group)for example are used. These thumbnail images 608-1 a, 608-2 a and 608-3a are stored in for example the video image data storage unit 260 of thedistribution server 2 together with the video image data.

Also, when thumbnail images are displayed together with sceneinformation in the video player window 6, the URL of a thumbnail imageis registered in the scene information of each scene as in for examplethe scene information 241 illustrated in FIG. 17.

When the URLs of thumbnail images have been registered in sceneinformation, the control unit 320 of the video image reproduction device3 obtains the thumbnail images at the same time as for example theprocess of obtaining the head file illustrated in FIG. 11 (steps S210and S211). Also, when making the display unit 360 display the sceneinformation obtained in step S213, the control unit 320 makes thedisplay unit 360 also display the thumbnail images. Also, the controlunit 320 may make the storage unit 340 store the thumbnail imagestogether with the scene information and the head file in step S212.

Note that the thumbnail images 608-1 a, 608-2 a and 608-3 a may extractand generate not only a frame of the head of each scene but also otherframes in video image data. When for example respective scenes are setin units of pitches by a pitcher in video image data of a baseball game,a thumbnail image generated by extracting the frame of the head of eachscene is one at the moment when the pitcher started the pitching action.In such a case, the thumbnail images of respective scenes have roughlythe same composition, which may result in a situation where it isdifficult to discriminate scenes by thumbnail images. In response tothis situation, in a case when respective scenes are set in units ofpitches by the pitcher, it is also possible to use as a thumbnail imagea frame for example before the pitcher starts the pitching action, whichis slightly earlier in time than the head of the scene.

FIG. 18 explains a generation method of a thumbnail image.

When respective scenes are set in units of pitches by a pitcher, frameSSm of the head of scene m and frame SSm+1 of the head of next scene m+1in the video image data (segment file group) 504 illustrated in FIG. 18for example both have a composition in which the pitcher has juststarted the pitching action. This may result in a situation where thethumbnail images 801 and 802 generated by extracting the frames of theheads of scenes SSm and SSm+1 have roughly the same composition and itis difficult to discriminate scenes by the thumbnail images 801 and 802.

Thus, when the frames of the heads of scenes have roughly the samecomposition, the first frames in the segment files including the framesof the heads of the scenes are used as the thumbnail images asillustrated in for example FIG. 18. The first frame in segment file SFn₀including frame SSm of the head of scene m and the first frame insegment file SFn+2₀ including frame SSm+1 of the head of scene m+1 areframes of moments before the pitcher started the pitching action. Inaddition, difference TP4-TP3 in time of day between frame SSm of thehead of scene m and the first frame of segment file SFn₀ is shorter thandifference TP6-TP5 in time of day between frame SSm+1 of the head ofscene m+1 and the first frame of segment file SFn+2₀ including thatframe. Accordingly, it is highly likely that the first frame of segmentfile SFn₀ including the frame of the head of scene m has a compositiondifferent from that of the first frame of segment file SFn+2₀ includingframe SSm+1 of the head of scene m+1. In other words, it is highlylikely that a thumbnail image 803 generated by extracting the firstframe of segment file SFn₀ has a composition different from that of athumbnail image 804 generated by extracting the first frame of segmentfile SFn+2₀. Accordingly, using the first frame in a segment fileincluding the frame of the head of a scene as a thumbnail image of eachscene is more likely to result in differences between the compositionsbetween thumbnail images, making it easier to discriminate scenes byusing thumbnail images.

Note that when a frame earlier in time than the frame of the head of ascene is to be treated as a thumbnail image, not only the first frame ofthe segment file including the frame but also a frame further earlier intime may be treated as a thumbnail image.

Also, in a case of a segment file group in which video image data isdivided so that the frame of the head of a scene is the head of thesegment file, the frame one second earlier than the frame of the head ofthe scene for example may be treated as a thumbnail image.

It is also possible to employ a configuration in which for example whena video image of a baseball game is searched for by using the videoimage reproduction device 3, games that one of the players selected inthe video player window 6 is appearing in can be searched for.

For example, the video player window 6 can include a game search button(not illustrated) in addition to the player display areas 601 and 602,the game date display areas 603 and 604, the pitched-ball locationdisplay area 605, etc. illustrated in FIG. 13. The game search button isa button for switching the display of the display unit 360 from thevideo player window 6 to a window for searching for a game that aparticular player is appearing in. When the operator of the video imagereproduction device 3 conducts a manipulation of pushing the game searchbutton, the control unit 320 of the video image reproduction device 3makes the display unit 360 display for example a played game selectionwindow (game-with-appearance selection window) 720 as illustrated inFIG. 19.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of search results of games that aparticular player is appearing in.

The played selection window 720 includes a player display area 721, arecord display area 722, a game information display area 723, a firstbutton 724, a second button 725 and a back button 726.

The player display area 721 is an area for displaying a selected player.This player display area 721 functions also as a button for specifying aplayer, and when for example the operator conducts a manipulation ofpushing the player display area 721, the display is switched to theplayer selection window 700 as illustrated in FIG. 14.

The record display area 722 is an area for displaying the records of aselected player. Records of players are stored in the web page storageunit 230 of the distribution server 2 in a state in which each record isassociated with a piece of player information displayed in the playerselection window 700.

The game information display area 723 is an area for displayinginformation on games that a selected player appeared in (pieces of gameinformation 723-1, 723-2, 723-3, 723-4 and 723-5). Game informationincludes information on for example the date of the game, the opponent,the batting record in the game, etc. Game information is stored in forexample the web page storage unit 230 of the distribution server 2 in astate in which it is associated with players displayed in the playerselection window 700. Also, together with game information, a thumbnailimage generated from the video image data of that game may be displayed.When thumbnail images are displayed, frames at times of day that aredifferent from the heads of scenes may be used for thumbnail images soas to prevent the thumbnail images from having roughly the samecomposition between pieces of game information. The pieces of gameinformation 723-1, 723-2, 723-3, 723-4 and 723-5 displayed in the gameinformation display area 723 function also as buttons for specifying apiece of video image data (game) that is to be reproduced.

The first button 724 is a display switch button for switching thedisplay of the appearance game selection window 720 to game informationthat is not being displayed currently. The second button 725 is adisplay switch button for making the played game selection window 720display the game information of the last game that the selected playerappeared in. The back button 726 is a display switch button forreturning the display of the played game selection window 720 to thevideo player window 6.

When the operator conducts a manipulation of pushing the game searchbutton (not illustrated) in a state in which the video player window 6is displayed in the display unit 360 of the video image reproductiondevice 3, the display unit 360 displays the played game selection window720. Note that at the moment when the played game selection window 720is displayed, the player display area 721 and the record display area722 are blank and the pieces of the game information 723-1, 723-2,723-3, 723-4 and 723-5 are not displayed in the game information displayarea 723.

Thereafter, when an operator conducts a manipulation of pushing theplayer display area 721, the display unit 360 of the video imagereproduction device 3 displays the player selection window 700 asillustrated in FIG. 14. When the operator conducts a manipulation ofselecting and confirming a player, the player selection window 700 forexample disappears, and the selected player is displayed in the playerdisplay area 721 of the played game selection window 720 and a recentrecord of that player is displayed in the record display area 722.

Then, the video image reproduction device 3 transmits to thedistribution server 2 a search request in which the name of the playerdisplayed in the player display area 721 is used as a search condition,and obtains information on a video image in which that player appeared.The video image reproduction device 3 displays the obtained informationin the game information display area 723 as game information. When theoperator conducts a manipulation of pushing one of the pieces of thegame information 723-1, 723-2, 723-3, 723-4 and 723-5, the searchprocess as illustrated in FIG. 11 is performed between the distributionserver 2 and the video image reproduction device 3. In the searchprocess performed then, the video image reproduction device 3 firsttransmits to the distribution server 2 a search request in which thename of a pitcher appearing in the game identified by the pushed gameinformation and the name of a player displayed in the player displayarea 721 are search conditions. Thereafter, the search processillustrated in FIG. 11 is performed between the video image reproductiondevice 3 and the distribution server 2, and the display unit 360 of thevideo image reproduction device 3 displays the video player window 6including scene information that meets the search condition.

Note that the played game selection window 720 illustrated in FIG. 19 isan example of a window for selecting a game in which a selected playerwas at bat. The played game selection window 720 is not limited to thisand may be for example a window for selecting a game in which a selectedplayer (pitcher) pitched.

FIG. 20 illustrates a functional configuration of a distribution serverin the video image distribution system according to a second embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 20, the distribution server 2 according to thepresent embodiment includes the distribution management unit 210, thecommunication unit 220, the web page storage unit 230, the sceneinformation storage unit 240, the playlist storage unit 250 and thevideo image data storage unit 260.

The distribution management unit 210 conducts the management of videoimage data (segment file group) distributed by the distribution server2, the management of the transmission of segment files to the videoimage reproduction devices 3, and other processes. Also, thedistribution management unit 210 of the distribution server 2 accordingto the present embodiment includes a control unit 211 and a storage unit212. The control unit 211 of the distribution management unit 210performs various processes including a search process in accordance witha search request from the video image reproduction device 3 and adistribution process in accordance with a distribution request from thevideo image reproduction device 3. The storage unit 212 of thedistribution management unit 210 stores a search result (sceneinformation) transmitted to the video image reproduction device 3 and asegment file of the head of a scene identified by that sceneinformation.

The communication unit 220 performs communications with the video imagereproduction devices 3 via the communication network 4. The web pagestorage unit 230 stores a web page such as a video player window, asearch window, etc., to be displayed in the video image reproductiondevices 3. The scene information storage unit 240 stores for examplescene information 241 illustrated in FIG. 8 as scene information ofrespective pieces of video image data (segment file group) used forsearching for video images. The playlist storage unit 250 storesplaylists of respective pieces of video image data illustrated in FIG.5. The video image data storage unit 260 stores video image data.

FIG. 21 illustrates a configuration of a storage unit of a distributionmanagement unit in the distribution server according to the secondembodiment.

The storage unit 212 of the distribution management unit 210 stores asearch result (scene information) transmitted to the video imagereproduction device 3 and the segment file of the head of the sceneidentified by that scene information as described above. The storageunit 212 includes a search result storage unit 9 as illustrated in FIG.21. The search result storage unit 9 stores search results 901, 902 and903 for each of the video image reproduction devices 3 (for eachclient). In this example, regarding a search result for one of the videoimage reproduction devices 3, a pair of a piece of scene informationmeeting a search condition and the segment file of the head of the sceneidentified by that scene information is stored in the search resultstorage unit as one search result. The segment file of the head of ascene is identified on the basis of the URL of a playlist included inthe scene information and the time of day of the head of the scene.

FIG. 21 illustrates a configuration of the search result 901 for thefirst video image reproduction device as an example of a search resultstored in the storage unit 212. The search result 901 includes a firstsearch result 901-1 and a second search result 901-2.

The first search result 901-1 includes scene information 901-1 a thatmeets a search condition and a segment file 901-1 b of the head of thescene identified by that scene information 901-1 a. Also, the secondsearch result 901-2 includes different scene information 901-2 a thatmeets a search condition and a segment file 901-2 b of the head of thescene identified by that scene information 901-2 a.

FIG. 22 illustrates a functional configuration of a video imagereproduction device in the video image distribution system according tothe second embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 22, the video image reproduction device 3according to the present embodiment includes the input manipulation unit310, a control unit 380, the communication unit 330, a storage unit 390,the reproduction process unit 350, the display unit 360 and the speaker370.

The input manipulation unit 310 receives various types of inputmanipulations such as an input manipulation conducted by the operator inorder to view a video image or other manipulations. Input manipulationsconducted by the operator include a manipulation of activating(executing) a program for viewing a video image, a manipulation ofsearching for a video image, and a manipulation of selecting a videoimage to view.

The control unit 380 controls the operation of the video imagereproduction device 3 on the basis of an input manipulation received bythe input manipulation unit 310. The operations controlled by thecontrol unit 380 include an operation of transmitting the search requestand a distribution request for a video image to the distribution server2. The operations controlled by the control unit 380 include anoperation of making the storage unit 390 store a search result (sceneinformation) obtained from the distribution server 2, an operation ofobtaining video image data (segment files) and an operation of makingthe reproduction process unit 350 perform the reproduction process ofvideo image data.

The communication unit 330 conducts communications with the distributionserver 2 via the communication network 4. The storage unit 390 stores aweb page, scene information, video image data (segment files), etc.obtained from the distribution server 2. The reproduction process unit350 performs a reproduction process etc. of a segment file stored in thestorage unit 390. The display unit 360 displays a web page or a videoimage reproduced in the reproduction process unit 350. The speaker 370outputs audio reproduced by the reproduction process unit 350.

FIG. 23 is a sequence diagram for explaining a search process in thevideo image distribution system according to the second embodiment.

Receiving a prescribed input manipulation by the operator in the inputmanipulation unit 310 for example, the video image reproduction device 3makes the display unit 360 display a video player window for viewing avideo image. A prescribed input manipulation by the operator includesfor example a manipulation of activating a web browser and amanipulation of making the web browser display the web page of the videoplayer window. As illustrated in for example FIG. 13, a video playerwindow includes the player display areas 601 and 602, the game datedisplay areas 603 and 604, the pitched-ball location display area 605,the search result display area 608, the video image display area 609,etc.

When the operator manipulates the input manipulation unit 310 and inputsa search condition in a state in which the video player window isdisplayed, a search request (search condition) transmitted from thevideo image reproduction device 3 to the distribution server 2 asillustrated in FIG. 23 (step S221).

In the distribution server 2 that has received the search request fromthe video image reproduction device 3, the control unit 211 searches thescene information 241 of the scene information storage unit 240 on thebasis of the search condition (step S222). When the scene information241 includes scene information that meets the search condition, thecontrol unit 211 extracts that scene information and transmits it to thevideo image reproduction device 3 (steps S223 and S224). When the sceneinformation 241 does not include scene information that meets the searchcondition, the distribution server 2 transmits to the video imagereproduction device 3 information reporting that scene informationmeeting the search condition does not exist.

When scene information meeting the search condition has been extracted,the control unit 211 of the distribution server 2 identifies a playlistof the video image data on the basis of that scene information (stepS225). In step S225, the control unit 211 reads the URL (see FIG. 8) ofthe playlist included in the scene information so as to identify theplaylist of the video image data.

After identifying the playlist of the video image data, the control unit211 of the distribution server 2 reads the playlist by accessing theplaylist storage unit 250 (steps S226 and S227).

Reading the playlist, the control unit 211 of the distribution server 2uses the scene information and the playlist so as to identify thesegment file (head file) of the head of the scene that corresponds tothe scene information (step S228). In step S228, the control unit 211reads the time of day of the head of the scene included in the sceneinformation and thereafter reads from the playlist the URL of thesegment file including the time of day of the head of the scene.

After identifying the head file, the control unit 211 of thedistribution server 2 obtains the head file by accessing the video imagedata storage unit 260 (steps S229 and S230). Thereafter, the controlunit 211 of the distribution server 2 makes the storage unit 212 store apair of the scene information and the head file in a state in which itis associated with the video image reproduction device 3 (step S231).

As described above, in the video image distribution system 1 accordingto the present embodiment, when a scene search is conducted for a videoimage by using the video image reproduction device 3, the distributionserver 2 reads in advance the segment file including the head of thatscene on the basis of the search result (scene information). In otherwords, when a scene search has been conducted, the distribution server2, before receiving a distribution request for video image data from thevideo image reproduction device 3, obtains the segment file includingthe head of the scene so as to be ready for the distribution. Then, thedistribution server 2 holds the scene information and the segment file(head file) read in advance in a state in which they are associated toeach other. In other words, in the video image distribution system 1according to the present embodiment, the distribution server 2 holds asegment file, read in advance, that includes the head of a scene inassociation with the video image reproduction device 3 instead oftransmitting it to the video image reproduction device 3 together withthe scene information.

Note that when a plurality of pieces of scene information have beenextracted in the processes in steps S222 and S223 performed by thecontrol unit 211 of the distribution server 2, the control unit 211performs the processes in step S224 through step S231 on each of theextracted pieces of scene information.

Also, when search requests (search conditions) of scenes have beenreceived from the plurality of video image reproduction devices 3, thecontrol unit 211 of the distribution server 2 performs the processes instep S222 through step S231 for each of the video image reproductiondevices 3 and makes the storage unit 212 store a pair of sceneinformation and a head file for each of the video image reproductiondevices 3.

FIG. 24A is a sequence diagram for explaining a reproduction process ofa video image in the distribution system according to the secondembodiment (first). FIG. 24B is a sequence diagram for explaining areproduction process of a video image in the distribution systemaccording to the second embodiment (second).

Receiving the search result (scene information) from the distributionserver 2 by the process of step S224 above, the video image reproductiondevice 3 displays the search results in the video player window. Whenthe operator conducts a manipulation of specifying a video image that isto be reproduced in the video image reproduction device 3 including thevideo player window displaying the search results, the video imagereproduction device 3 transmits specifying information to thedistribution server 2 as illustrated in FIG. 24A (step S341). Specifyinginformation includes scene information of a video image that is to bereproduced.

In the distribution server 2 that has received the specifyinginformation, the control unit 211 accesses the storage unit 212 andreads the scene information specified in the specifying information andthe head file (steps S342 and S343).

Reading the scene information and head file, the control unit 211identifies the playlist of the video image data that is to betransmitted (distributed) to the video image reproduction device 3 onthe basis of the read scene information. In step S344, the control unit211 identifies the playlist by reading the URL (see FIG. 8) of theplaylist included in the scene information.

After identifying the playlist, the control unit 211 accesses theplaylist storage unit 250 so as to read the identified playlist (stepsS345 and S346).

Reading the playlist, the control unit 211 transmits the sceneinformation, the head file and the playlist to the video imagereproduction device 3 (step S347).

In the video image reproduction device 3 that has received the sceneinformation, the head file and the playlist, the control unit 380outputs a reproduction start instruction and the head file to thereproduction process unit 350 (step S348) as illustrated in FIG. 24B.The reproduction process unit 350 starts the reproduction from thereceived head file (step S349), and outputs a reproduced signal to thedisplay unit 360 and a speaker (not illustrated) (step S350).

The control unit 380, after outputting the reproduction startinstruction, identifies the segment file (following file) that followsthe head file being reproduced, on the basis of the scene informationand the playlist (step S361). In step S361, on the basis of the time ofday of the head of the scene included in the scene information, thecontrol unit 380 of the video image reproduction device 3 reads the URLof a segment file that is later in time than the segment file for whichthe time of day of the head of a scene is included in the playlist.

After identifying the following file, the video image reproductiondevice 3 (the control unit 380) transmits to the distribution server 2 atransfer request for the segment file that is to be reproduced second(step S362). Receiving from the distribution server 2 the segment filethat is to reproduced second, the control unit 380 of the video imagereproduction device 3 makes the storage unit 390 store the receivedsegment file (steps S363 and S364).

Also, the control unit 380 consecutively transmits to the distributionserver 2 a transfer request for the segment file that is to bereproduced third (step S365). Receiving, from the distribution server 2,the segment file that is to be reproduced third, the control unit 380 ofthe video image reproduction device 3 makes the storage unit 390 storethe received segment file (steps S366 and S367).

Thereafter, the control unit 380 of the video image reproduction device3 repeats the process of obtaining the following files from thedistribution server 2 so as to make the storage unit 390 store them.

Meanwhile, slightly before the termination of the reproduction of thehead file as illustrated in FIG. 24B, the reproduction process unit 350having started the reproduction of the head file in step S349 reads fromthe storage unit 390 the segment file that is to be reproduced second.Thereafter, the reproduction process unit 350 starts the reproduction ofthe next file at the same time as the termination of the reproduction ofthe head file.

Thereafter, the reproduction process unit 350 of the video imagereproduction device 3 repeats the reproduction process on segment filesread from the storage unit 390 and the processes of reading from thestorage unit 390 segment files that are to be reproduced next slightlybefore the termination of the reproduction process.

As described above, according to the video image distribution system 1of the present embodiment, the distribution server 2 that conducted ascene search in accordance with a search request from the video imagereproduction device 3 reads in advance the segment file of the head ofthe scene corresponding to the search result. Also, regarding videoimage data stored in the video image data storage unit 260 of thedistribution server 2, the time length of the segment file including thehead of a scene is reduced so as to reduce the data amount asillustrated in FIG. 2. This makes it possible for the distributionserver 2 to transmit to the video image reproduction device 3 thesegment file of the head of a scene of a specified video image in ashort period of time in a case when the video image (scene) to bereproduced on the basis of a search result is specified in the videoimage reproduction device 3. Accordingly, the present embodiment cangreatly reduce a waiting time between the specifying of a video imagethat is to be reproduced in the video image reproduction device 3 andthe start of the reproduction.

Also, the distribution server 2 transmits to the video imagereproduction device 3 a prescribed number of segment files which includea head file and each of which has a short time length. When a sufficientmargin has been secured in the video image reproduction device 3, thedistribution server 2 transmits a segment file having a long timelength. This can suppress an increase in the transfer frequency ofsegment files between the distribution server 2 and the video imagereproduction devices 3 so as to suppress an increase in the processloads on the distribution server 2.

The functional configuration of the distribution server 2 illustrated inFIG. 20 is just exemplary, and some of the constituents may be changedand other constituents may be added as needed. Also, the video imagedata storage unit 260 for example may be provided in a server separatefrom the distribution server 2.

Note that the search process illustrated in FIG. 23 is just exemplary,and regarding the search process of the video image distribution system1 according to the present embodiment, the order and contents of some ofthe processes in the search process illustrated in FIG. 23 may bechanged and other processes may be added to the search process in FIG.23 as needed.

Also, the reproduction process of a video image illustrated in FIG. 24Aand FIG. 24B is just exemplary, and regarding the reproduction processof the video image distribution system 1 according to the presentembodiment, the order and contents of some of the processes in thereproduction process in FIG. 24A and FIG. 24B may be changed as needed.Also, the reproduction process of the video image distribution system 1according to the present embodiment may be a process that is a result ofadding other processes to the reproduction process illustrated in FIG.24A and FIG. 24B.

As described above, in the video image distribution system 1 accordingto the respective embodiments described above, when the operator of thevideo image reproduction device 3 conducts a scene search for a videoimage, the segment file including the head of the scene identified bythe search result (scene information) is read from the video image datastorage unit 260. Accordingly, when a video image that is to bereproduced on the basis of a search result is specified in the videoimage reproduction device 3, the reproduction is started from thesegment file that has been read, making it possible to omit the processof reading a segment file from the video image data storage unit 260.This can reduce a waiting time between the specifying of a video imagethat is to be reproduced in the video image reproduction device 3 andthe start of the reproduction.

Also, the distribution server 2 first transmits to the video imagereproduction device 3 a prescribed number of segment files which includea head file and each of which includes a short time length, and when asufficient margin has been secured in the video image reproductiondevice 3, a segment file having a long time length is transmitted. Thiscan suppress an increase in the transfer frequency of segment filesbetween the distribution server 2 and the video image reproductiondevice 3 so as to suppress an increase in the process loads on thedistribution server 2.

This makes it possible for the video image distribution system 1 of theabove respective embodiments both to reduce a waiting time before thestart of the reproduction in the video image reproduction device 3 andto suppress an increase in the loads on the distribution server 2.

Note that the distribution server 2 and the video image reproductiondevices 3 in the video image distribution system 1 above arerespectively realized by computers and prescribed programs that areexecuted by the computers. By referring to FIG. 25, explanations will begiven for a hardware configuration of a computer that can be operated asthe distribution server 2 and the video image reproduction devices 3.

FIG. 25 illustrates a hardware configuration of a computer.

As illustrated in FIG. 25, a computer 10 operated as the distributionserver 2 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 1001, a main storagedevice 1002, an auxiliary storage device 1003, an input device 1004 anda display device 1005. Also, the computer 10 includes a communicationinterface 1006 and a storage medium driving device 1007. The abovehardware constituents in the computer 10 are connected to each other viaa bus 1010 so that data can be transmitted between two arbitrary points.

The CPU 1001 is an arithmetic process device that controls the overalloperations of the computer 10 by executing various types of programs.

The main storage device 1002 includes a read only memory (ROM) and arandom access memory (RAM). The ROM has recorded in advance for examplea prescribed basic control program read by the CPU 1001 upon theactivation of the computer 10. Also, the RAM is used as a workingstorage area as needed when the CPU 1001 executes various types ofprograms. The RAM of the main storage device 1002 can be used forstoring for example information for identifying the video imagereproduction device 3 connected to the computer 10, informationindicating video image data being distributed to the video imagereproduction device 3 and other types of information.

The auxiliary storage device 1003 is a storage device, such as a harddisk drive (HDD) etc., having a capacity larger than that of the mainstorage device 1002. The auxiliary storage device 1003 stores varioustypes of data including a web page, scene information, a playlist, videoimage data to be distributed, and various types of programs executed bythe CPU 1001. The CPU 1001 reads and executes a program stored in theauxiliary storage device 1003 and reads various types of data stored inthe auxiliary storage device 1003 as needed. Also, the CPU 1001 readsscene information, a playlist and video image data (segment files)stored in the auxiliary storage device 1003 so as to transfer them tothe video image reproduction device 3 in response to a request from thevideo image reproduction device 3.

The input device 1004 is for example a keyboard device and a mousedevice, and in response to a manipulation by the operator of thecomputer 10, transmits input information associated with themanipulation to the CPU 1001.

The display device 1005 is for example a liquid crystal display, anddisplays various types of texts and video images in accordance withdisplay data transmitted from the CPU 1001.

The communication interface 1006 connects the computer 10 and thecommunication network 4 such as the Internet etc. so as to permitcommunications, and communicates with the video image reproductiondevices 3 etc. Also, the communication interface 1006 communicates withother computers etc. that generate for example a segment file groupdescribed above.

The storage medium driving device 1007 reads a program or data recordedin a portable recording medium (not illustrated) and records, in aportable recording medium, data etc. that is held by the auxiliarystorage device 1003. For the portable recording medium, for example aflash memory provided with a connector compatible with the universalserial bus (USB) standard can be used. Also, for the portable recordingmedium, a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatiledisc read only memory (DVD-ROM), etc. can also be used.

The computer 10 makes the CPU 1001, the main storage device 1002, theauxiliary storage device 1003, etc. function in cooperation according toa prescribed video image distribution program so as to conduct a scenesearch for a video image and distribution of video image data (segmentfile group). When the computer 10 is operated as the distribution server2 according to the second embodiment, the computer 10 reads in advancethe segment file including the head of the scene identified by a searchresult (scene information) when the result of the scene search for avideo image is to be transmitted to the video image reproduction device3.

A computer 11 that is operated as the video image reproduction device 3includes a CPU 1101, a main storage device 1102, an auxiliary storagedevice 1103, a video image process device 1104, an input device 1105 anda display device 1106. Also, the computer 11 includes a communicationinterface 1107 and a storage medium driving device 1108. The abovehardware constituents in the computer 11 are connected to each other viaa bus 1110 and data can be transmitted between two arbitrary points.

The CPU 1101 is an arithmetic process device that controls overalloperations of the computer 11 by executing various types of programs.

The main storage device 1102 includes a ROM and a RAM. The ROM stores inadvance for example a prescribed basic control program etc. that is readby the CPU 1101 upon the activation of the computer 11. Also, the RAM isused as a working storage area as needed when the CPU 1101 executesvarious programs. The RAM of the main storage device 1102 can be usedfor storing for example a web page, scene information, a segment fileincluding the head of a scene, etc. obtained from the distributionserver 2.

The auxiliary storage device 1103 is a storage device, such as a harddisk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), having a capacity largerthan that of the main storage device 1102. Various types of programsexecuted by the CPU 1101 and various types of data are stored in theauxiliary storage device 1103. The CPU 1101 reads and executes a programstored in the auxiliary storage device 1103 and also reads, as needed,various types of data stored in the auxiliary storage device 1103. Theauxiliary storage device 1103 can be used for temporarily storing(holding) for example following segment files for reproducing a videoimage specified on the basis of a search result.

The video image process device 1104 performs a reproduction process ofvideo image data (segment files) obtained from the distribution server2. Video image data is in a state in which it is encoded (compressed) ina format defined by for example the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG).The video image process device 1104 decodes this encoded video imagedata (segment files) so as to convert it into a reproduced signal thatcan be displayed in the display device 1106.

The input device 1105 is for example a keyboard device or a mousedevice, and transmits, when manipulated by the operator of the computer11, input information associated with the manipulation to the CPU 1101.When the computer 11 is a tablet computer, a touch panel disposed on thedisplay surface of the display device 1106 for example can be used asthe input device 1105.

The display device 1106 is for example a liquid crystal display, anddisplays various types of texts, video images, etc. in accordance with areproduced signal (display data) transmitted from the CPU 1101 or thevideo image process device 1104.

The communication interface 1107 connects the computer 11 and thecommunication network 4 such as the Internet etc. so that communicationsare possible between them, and thereby communicates with thedistribution server 2 etc.

The storage medium driving device 1108 reads a program or data recordedin a portable recording medium (not illustrated), and records in aportable recording medium data etc. that is held by the auxiliarystorage device 1103. For the portable recording medium, for example aflash memory provided with a connector compatible with the universalserial bus (USE) standard can be used. When the computer 11 is providedwith an optical disk drive that can be used as a storage medium drivingdevice, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, etc. can also be used as the portablerecording medium.

The computer 11 makes the CPU 1101, the main storage device 1102, theauxiliary storage device 1103, the video image process device 1104, etc.function in cooperation according to a prescribed video imagedistribution program so as to perform the above search process andreproduction process with the distribution server 2. When the computer11 is operated as the video image reproduction device 3 according to thefirst embodiment, the computer 11 executes a video image distributionprogram of obtaining from the distribution server 2 a segment fileincluding the head of a scene identified by a search result (sceneinformation) obtained from the distribution server 2.

All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended forpedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the inventionand the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, andare to be construed as being without limitation to such specificallyrecited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of suchexamples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority andinferiority of the invention. Although the embodiments of the presentinvention have been described in detail, it should be understood thatthe various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made heretowithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A video image distribution server comprising: afirst memory configured to store video image data divided into aplurality of divisional files and information on the video image data; asecond memory configured to store a search result of the video imagedata; and a processor configured to extract, in response to a searchrequest for the video image data from a video image reproduction device,information on the video image data that meets a search conditionincluded in the search request so as to transmit the information to thevideo image reproduction device, obtain from the first memory one or aplurality of divisional files corresponding to reproduction startingportions in the video image data that meets the search condition so asto make the second memory store the divisional file together with asearch result of the video image data, and read, from the second memory,when receiving a reproduction instruction of one of the plurality ofpieces of video image data from the video image reproduction device, adivisional file of the video image data for which the reproductioninstruction has been received so as to transmit the divisional file tothe video image reproduction device.
 2. The video image distributionserver according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of scenes are set forthe video image data, and a time length of the divisional file includinga head of one of the scenes is shorter than a time length of thedivisional file that is reproduced after reproduction of a prescribednumber of the divisional files counting from the divisional fileincluding the head of the scene.
 3. The video image distribution serveraccording to claim 1, wherein the first memory is made to store a firstfile group including divisional files generated by dividing, for eachfirst time length and from a head, one piece of video image data inwhich a plurality of scenes are set and to store a second file groupincluding divisional files generated by dividing, for each second timelength from a head, the video image data, the second time length beingshorter than the first time length, and the processor reads, from thesecond file group, the divisional file including a head of the sceneidentified by scene information of the video image data that meets thesearch condition from the video image reproduction device.
 4. The methodof distributing video image data, the method comprising: searching, whenreceiving a search request for the video image data from a video imagereproduction device, for the video image data on the basis of a searchcondition included in the search request by using a computer;transmitting to the video image reproduction device a search resultincluding information on video image data that meets the searchcondition and reading one or a plurality of divisional filescorresponding to reproduction starting portions in the video image datathat meets the search condition from a memory in which the video imagedata is s, by using the computer; and transmitting, when receiving adistribution request for the video image data from the video imagereproduction device, the divisional file specified by the distributionrequest from among the divisional files read from the memory, by usingthe computer.
 5. A non-transitory computer-readable recording mediumhaving stored therein a program for causing a computer to execute aprocess for distributing video image data to a video image reproductiondevice, the process comprising: searching, when receiving a searchrequest for the video image data from the video image reproductiondevice, for the video image data on the basis of a search conditionincluded in the search request; transmitting to the video imagereproduction device a search result including information on video imagedata that meets the search condition and reading one or a plurality ofdivisional files corresponding to reproduction starting portions in thevideo image data that meets the search condition from a memory in whichthe video image data is stored; and transmitting to the video imagereproduction device, when receiving a distribution request for the videoimage data from the video image reproduction device, the divisional filespecified by a distribution request from among the divisional files readfrom the memory.